Spring 2010 The Lancashire School Effectiveness Service Literacy Newsletter “Promoting excellence, creativity and enjoyment in English and literacy through partnership with schools.” Happy New Year! It seems unbelievable that it is 10 years since the Millennium. The start of this term can be the most difficult one. Going to school in the dark and coming home in the dark makes life seem all work and no play. The days are short, The sun a spark Hung thin between The dark and dark. John Updike from ‘January’ However, the longest day is well behind us and the days are getting longer – really! Apparently, in Lancashire by Easter, sunrise will be at 6.42 a.m. and sunset at 7.48 p.m. Let’s hope there’s some sunshine between the two! So, let’s Spring into action with this term’s newsletter! First of all a big welcome to Claire Speakman from Leyland St Mary’s, who is joining the team as a new consultant from January. We are really looking forward to her joining the team and working with us to support Lancashire schools. Once more, we have included a wide range of information and support for teaching literacy. We are really pleased to include book reviews from three teachers for our regular ‘Have you Read?’ section. Don’t forget to submit one of your own if you come across a book that goes down a storm in your class; especially in KS1. If you are a Reception or KS1 teacher, you will have great fun trying out the drama activities using Billy Bucket – take pictures! Our CLLD consultant has written a really useful and practical guide for developing CLL during outdoor learning. Thankyou, too, to Rachel Hall from Stoneyholme for her case study of a project, Talk Power, to get boys talking outside. For those of you who might be struggling to write a brief Literacy policy, we have included a ‘potted policy’ created in one of our schools. It should be adapted to suit your own particular needs and could form the basis of a more detailed policy. We hope you have an enjoyable and productive term.
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Spring 2010
The Lancashire School Effectiveness Service
Literacy Newsletter“Promoting excellence, creativity and enjoyment in English and literacy through partnership with schools.”
Happy New Year! It seems unbelievable that it is 10 years since the Millennium.
The start of this term can be the most difficult one. Going to school in the dark and coming home in the dark makes life seem all work and no play.
The days are short,The sun a spark
Hung thin betweenThe dark and dark.
John Updike from ‘January’
However, the longest day is well behind us and the days are getting longer – really! Apparently, in Lancashire by Easter, sunrise will be at 6.42 a.m. and sunset at 7.48 p.m. Let’s hope there’s some sunshine between the two!
So, let’s Spring into action with this term’s newsletter!
First of all a big welcome to Claire Speakman from Leyland St Mary’s, who is joining the team as a new consultant from January. We are really looking forward to her joining the team and working with us to support Lancashire schools.
Once more, we have included a wide range of information and support for teaching literacy. We are really pleased to include book reviews from three teachers for our regular ‘Have you Read?’ section. Don’t forget to submit one of your own if you come across a book that goes down a storm in your class; especially in KS1.
If you are a Reception or KS1 teacher, you will have great fun trying out the drama activities using Billy Bucket – take pictures!
Our CLLD consultant has written a really useful and practical guide for developing CLL during outdoor learning. Thankyou, too, to Rachel Hall from Stoneyholme for her case study of a project, Talk Power, to get boys talking outside.
For those of you who might be struggling to write a brief Literacy policy, we have included a ‘potted policy’ created in one of our schools. It should be adapted to suit your own particular needs and could form the basis of a more detailed policy.
We hope you have an enjoyable and productive term.
Senior Adviser / Team Leader Lyn Ranson
Principal Consultant Sarah Watson
Literacy Consultants Sue Dean (Senior Consultant), Helen Atkinson, Julie Clack, Marie Feathers, Edwina Maskell, Janet Pay, Claire Speakman, Nicola Tomlinson, Anita Yearsley, Louise Young
CLLD Consultants Vanessa Andrews, Lesley Dodd
ECaR Consultants Shirley Gott, Jayne Nicholas
Administrative Staff Julia Page - Admin Manager, Alison Kenyon - Deputy Admin Manager, Daniel Hayes - Admin Assistant, Angela Jamieson - Admin Assistant, Lynn Smith - Admin Assistant
We are unfortunately unable to provide additional copies of this newsletter but you can download the file from our
website and, if you don’t have a colour printer, commercial printers will be able to print any or all of the pages for you.
ContentsAPP - Gathering and Using Evidence in Writing•
Renewed Framework for Literacy•
Every Child a Reader in Lancashire•
Using Support for Writing and Talk for Writing•
BBC Learning in the North Project•
The Little Book of Literacy Essentials•
Burnley Transition Project•
SEN News - New Resources and Network•
Are You Ready for APP in Reading?•
Have You Read?•
Spring Term Twilight Flyer - Writer Talk•
Developing CLLD During Outdoor Learning•
Talk Power: A Project to Get Boys Talking•
Preston Museums and Schools in Partnership•
Storytelling and Storymaking for EAL Children•
Drama Activities Using Billy’s Bucket•
Literacy - The Essentials•
LE Consultancy and Courses•
One to One Tuition in Lancashire•
Cover photo: jenny downing @ flickr.com
Spring 2010
The Lancashire School Effectiveness Service
Literacy Newsletter“Promoting excellence, creativity and enjoyment in English and literacy through partnership with schools.”
Happy New Year! It seems unbelievable that it is 10 years since the Millennium.
The start of this term can be the most difficult one. Going to school in the dark and coming home in the dark makes life seem all work and no play.
The days are short,The sun a spark
Hung thin betweenThe dark and dark.
John Updike from ‘January’
However, the longest day is well behind us and the days are getting longer – really! Apparently, in Lancashire by Easter, sunrise will be at 6.42 a.m. and sunset at 7.48 p.m. Let’s hope there’s some sunshine between the two!
So, let’s Spring into action with this term’s newsletter!
First of all a big welcome to Claire Speakman from Leyland St Mary’s, who is joining the team as a new consultant from January. We are really looking forward to her joining the team and working with us to support Lancashire schools.
Once more, we have included a wide range of information and support for teaching literacy. We are really pleased to include book reviews from three teachers for our regular ‘Have you Read?’ section. Don’t forget to submit one of your own if you come across a book that goes down a storm in your class; especially in KS1.
If you are a Reception or KS1 teacher, you will have great fun trying out the drama activities using Billy Bucket – take pictures!
Our CLLD consultant has written a really useful and practical guide for developing CLL during outdoor learning. Thankyou, too, to Rachel Hall from Stoneyholme for her case study of a project, Talk Power, to get boys talking outside.
For those of you who might be struggling to write a brief Literacy policy, we have included a ‘potted policy’ created in one of our schools. It should be adapted to suit your own particular needs and could form the basis of a more detailed policy.
We hope you have an enjoyable and productive term.
With the increased use APP approaches and materials to support teacher assessment in writing, •questions are frequently asked about evidence and the place of supported and unsupported tasks.
When assessing pupils using the APP approach, it is important to remember that we are looking for •what a pupil can do confidently, consistently and independently.
To help make those judgements in writing, it is recommended that the teacher draws on a range of •evidence – what they know about the child, observations of them working, the pupil’s responses to questioning and discussion, and a range of samples of their writing.
It is recommended that this range of writing comes from a variety of sources – from work in Literacy, •other subjects and wider writing opportunities such as pieces for assembly etc. This provides the teacher with greater opportunity to find evidence of the skills which have become embedded, in other words those which they apply confidently, consistently and independently.
Scaffolded tasks, use of success criteria, reminders about targets and so on are all vital elements of •Assessment for Learning and good teaching – hang on to those! It is just important to keep in mind that where specific scaffolding has been given, credit cannot be given for that aspect. The same piece may however provide evidence for several other assessment focuses. Similarly, if the child shows in other pieces that they can indeed demonstrate their ability to apply that particular skill which was
scaffolded elsewhere, then they should be given credit. APP is designed to draw on normal teaching approaches and additional ‘cold’ writing tasks are
neither necessary nor desirable. On rare occasions, a teacher may find they simply do not know how embedded certain skills are because all
the writing opportunities being offered to children are so heavily scaffolded. In such instances, pupils simply do not have chance
to show what they can do by themselves and consequently these opportunities need to be planned in by the teacher.
It all comes back to the teacher’s knowledge of the •child and what they can do. APP is designed to support teachers in gaining that knowledge. There are no hard and fast rules as such – it’s about teachers reflecting
on ‘where is this child with their writing?’, making a judgement and using a range of evidence to ensure that they are secure in that judgement.
APP - Gathering and Using Evidence to Assess Pupils’ Progress in Writing
To scaffold or not to scaffold?
Renewed Framework for LiteracyIn late June last year, the government published the
white paper entitled “Your child, your schools, our future
– building a 21st century schools system”.
Just prior to this being published, it was incorrectly
reported that schools would no longer have to plan and
teach from the National Strategy Renewed Frameworks
for Mathematics and Literacy.
The white paper actually states that successful schools
have “taken on teaching frameworks developed by The
National Strategies, including for the daily literacy and
numeracy hours, and used them with enthusiasm… and
we expect every school to continue with this practice.”
Download the full report from
www.dcsf.gov.uk/21stcenturyschoolssystem.
Burnley ExpressTuesday, October 27 2009, p.10
Every Child a Reader in Lancashire
The Mayor and Mayoress of Burnley, Councillor John and Mrs. Gillian Harbour, cut the ribbon to officially mark the opening of the Every Child a Reader training centre at Springfield Primary School, which is one of only two in Lancashire (the other being St Maria Gorretti RC Primary in Preston).
The programme aims to reach those pupils most in need of help to boost the standard of literacy in the area.The Reading Recovery scheme will help children
around the age of six who are struggling with learning to read and write. The lowest attaining pupils will get five 30-minute reading sessions a week.
The programme creates a personalised plan for each pupil, assessing their needs and building upon what the child is already able to do.
The centre will also be used to train other Reading Recovery teachers, with 37 teachers from across the region having signed up for the year-long training course.
Two new fliers have recently been sent into school giving a very useful overview of the Support for Writing and Talk for Writing materials.
The Support for Writing poster gives information around how to use the Support for Writing materials when planning. These materials consist of:
Additional guidance on text types•Progression statements•Steps in learning•Pupil writing targets•Examples of Pedagogy•
The Talk for writing poster shows how to incorporate aspects of talk into the assess, plan, teach, review sequence. The key aspects of talk for writing are:
Book Talk•Writer Talk (reading as a writer and writing as a reader)•Story telling and story making•Word and language games•Role play and drama.•Further copies and more information can be downloaded from the national strategies website.•
Using Support for Writing and Talk for Writing
Lancashire has been lucky to be invited to work with the BBC to evaluate suitable material for use in schools. A website, with a wealth of resources, is in the process of development. Have a look for yourselves:
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips
Lots of clips are available from well known TV programmes such as Top Gear, Newsround, CBeebies, BBC News, Blue Peter and Jackanory. In addition, many narrative clips and short films are available, for example, George’s Marvellous Medicine, The Iron Man, Rumpelstiltskin, The Town Rat and the Country Rat, This is the Bear and the Scary Night, Hacker, Good Night Owl, The Hare and the Tortoise, to name just a few.
Nicola Tomlinson, Literacy Consultant and Caroline Garland, Deputy Headteacher in
Leyland (and ex-Literacy Consultant) are to attend workshops in the Spring term to provide advice and ideas for the use of further audio visual material and BBC archive material for literacy and the creative curriculum.
Watch this space for developments and updates!
BBC Learning in the North Project
The Little Book of Literacy Essentials
Burnley Transition Project
The Little Book of Literacy Essentials is an introduction to literacy teaching in primary schools.
It outlines the basic principles and practice of the different elements of the literacy lesson. It has been written to support NQTs, teachers returning to teaching since the Literacy Framework was renewed and anyone wishing to update their knowledge of current practice.
Download it from our website today!
An exciting new project is being piloted this year to develop
the transition between primary and secondary schools
in Burnley. This follows the successful introduction of a
transition project in the Wyre where high schools and their
feeder primary schools attend a conference in the Spring
term hosted by one of the high schools in the area. The
schools develop the transfer of assessment information
in the form of APP judgements so that high schools have
detailed assessment profiles to inform teaching and learning
of the new Year 7 pupils. A Y6 transition unit of work for the
summer term is provided, complete with access to moodle
resources. Y6 teachers use some of the tasks from the
transition unit to inform their APP judgements which are
passed on to Y7 colleagues and secondary Heads of English.
The Burnley Transition Project will follow a similar model with
APP training provided as required. Two Burnley secondary
schools, Sir John Thursby and Blessed Trinity and their feeder
primary schools are taking part in this pilot. We hope to
extend the project further in the future in order to continue
strengthening the smooth transfer of information between
Year 6 and Year 7 teachers.
New ResourcesPlease look out for two new booklets that came into all schools earlier this term entitled ‘Resources for teachers working with children with speech, language and communication difficulties’ and ‘Resources for teachers working with children with dyslexia’.
The resources in these booklets have been presented in 3 sections. The first is for teachers working in the Early Years Foundation Stage, the next for teachers working in KS1 and 2 and the last for those working in KS3 and 4. However some of the resources are not exclusive to these age ranges and teachers may find suggestions from outside their age group useful.
There are a variety of resources listed, including teacher books and manuals, intervention programmes and activities, practical equipment and web based resources. It is not suggested that these are the only helpful resources to support teachers but are a collection of those suggested by teachers and specialists in Lancashire LA.
Within in each group there are ideas for the 3 waves of support.
Wave 1: listed here are resources that will support the class teacher with providing good quality inclusive education for all pupils.Wave 2: these are resources to support pupils who are working just below age range expectations and are aimed at enabling these pupils to accelerate progress to
meet national expectations. These pupils are likely to be working in a small group, often with an adult to supervise their learning.Wave 3: on this page are resources that will be useful to support the lowest attaining pupils who often need specialist one-to-one support to tackle fundamental difficulties.
At the last meeting on 20th November most people braved the walk form Woodlands to Lancashire College; despite all my arrangements, the flier still went out with Woodlands on it!! Spring and Summer meetings are in Woodlands, though.
We enjoyed a range of teaching and learning activities using ICT and the evaluations were universally appreciative. Thanks to all the presenters, Sue Eaves, Nicky and Louise and especially Lynne who conducted a hilarious and fascinating ‘hands-on’ session using Dinosaurs as a stimulus. The usual suspects degenerated into near vulgarity at times! [They know who they are!]Careful reading of the suggestions from you for the
Spring Session resulted in a session from Lynne on Dyslexia, a session from Liz that will take the approaches and strategies that Lynne examined through Dinosaurs to a more suitable content for KS4; she is going to look at a Shakespeare text. I will approach practitioners who can talk about the benefits and issues resulting from their new school build on different campuses and we are inviting Anne Conroy, from the EYFS team, to do a session on planning. We will include the Libraries suggestion in the Summer
Next date is February 5th 2010, Woodlands.
See you there. Hilary King.
The Special Schools’ Network
Most schools are well on the way to adopting Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP) as their termly assessment tool. Many have started with APP in writing or in maths with the intention of introducing the guidelines for reading when the first two are established. The expectation is that APP should be introduced and implemented by 2011.
Assessing Pupils’ Progress is a straightforward approach to making secure judgements about the standard of pupils’ work and what they need to do next. However, making judgements about children’s writing is perhaps more straightforward than reading. In writing, the evidence is there on the page. In reading, much of the evidence is
inside the child’s head!
So, how do you access that evidence in order to inform APP judgements and plan next steps in reading?
What are you looking for?
Whatever the age of the child, or the complexity of the text, the statements below summarise what a reader is doing when developing each assessment focus. What schools need to do is provide a wide range of reading opportunities to both develop reading and generate evidence to inform assessment, teaching and learning.
AF1 use a range of strategies, including accurate decoding of text, to read for meaning
AF2understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text
AF3 deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts
AF4identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level
AF5explain and comment on writers’ use of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level
AF6identify and comment on writers’ purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader
AF7 relate texts to their social, cultural and historical traditions
The Assessment Focuses - What the Reader is Doing
AF1: I can blend phonemes to read and
understand words. I know my high frequency words. I know how to help myself
when I’m stuck.
AF2: I can find information and ideas in
the text and quote them in my answer.
AF3: I can find the author’s clues about what
is happening or how characters are feeling.
AF4: I can explain why the writer has organised the text
in the way she or he has.
AF5: I can explain the meaning of words and
phrases and the intended effect of the language chosen by the author.
AF6: I can explain how the author feels about the text and how he wants the reader to feel or to think.
AF7: I can explain how this text relates to others I have read or to the place
or time in which it was written.
Are You Ready for APP in Reading?
Reading Opportunity
APP in Reading Are the following elements included in your class?
Areas for Development
Shared Reading
A wide range of texts; engagement and enjoyment; teaching of reading strategies at the age expected level; lots of Book Talk; open questions that require thought; modelling of extended oral responses; the teaching of the range of AFs; a balance of teacher/child talk; reading as a writer – identifying the structures and language features of texts to inform own writing; gathering content for writing.
Guided ReadingAs above but at the ability level of the children; pre-planned, key questions about texts to develop AFs; extra sessions for children who need it; guided reading records and observations.
Guided Reading Workshops
Opportunities for children to prepare for, and then respond to, their guided reading sessions using the strategies and activities in the table below – a five day rota of purposeful reading activities.
Daily read-aloudOpportunities for children to listen to high quality classic and modern texts, non-fiction and poetry and respond in a wide range of creative ways; texts to enhance children’s language development.
Using the LibraryLibrary use included in planning; themed library events; easy access; comfy and inviting.
The Reading Environment
Comfy, attractive book corners; book displays; book boards. (see Spring 2009 Newsletter); reading gardens; easy access to books and other reading material; book fairs.
Home reading
A wide range of books chosen for interest as well as progression; parents who know how to share a book with their child; in-school, ‘home-reading’ for children who are not read with at home; parents’ reading workshops.
Boys ReadingBooks and other reading material chosen to engage boys; respect for boys’ reading choices; male role models.
Resources
Good quality books and other reading material kept in good condition, refreshed and updated as often as finances allow;the School Library Service and available resources are fully accessed and utilised.
Visiting authors Inspirational writers providing role models and workshops.
Reading aloudFluency. The children’s ability to read with expression and appropriate tone to reflect meaning and character. Using decoding strategies for tackling unfamiliar words.
Book TalkDialogue between the teacher and the children and between the children themselves. Dialogue which will reveal skills and understanding across the full range of Assessment Focuses and reading opportunities.
DramaThe ways in which children interpret and respond to texts reveals their depth of understanding and insight.
Locating information
The accuracy and relevance of the information and ideas that children retrieve from texts.
Extended ReadingStamina and pace. How quickly children can skim texts for gist or scan for specific information. How much children can read independently and remain engaged.
Visualisation Children’s images of characters and settings; representations of information in pictorial form.
Translation Children’s representations of text in different forms.
Writing in role The children’s ability to empathise and understand viewpoint.
Language development
The children’s vocabulary and knowledge of a wide range of topics; the children’s ability to articulate their responses to and interpretation of what they read.
Comparing textsChildren state reading preferences and make links between different texts and between texts and life.
Reading Journals Children’s personal responses and interpretations of what they read.
Independent reading behaviours
The children’s willingness to read without instruction to do so; the range of texts chosen;the engagement and enjoyment experienced.
Response outcomes
Character webs; focus boxes; zone of relevance; role-on-the-wall; sequencing activities; question hands; KWL and QUAD grids . . . . . . . . . . . .
What types of evidence could these reading opportunities generate?
The prompts below are to help you evaluate the range and quality of opportunities for reading in your school.
Spilled Water by Sally Grindley‘Today is a big day for you. From today, you must learn to find your own way in the muddy whirlpool of life.’
This is the day in which everything changes for 11 year old Lu Si-Yan, a day in which she truly learns what it means to be born a girl in China.
Spilled Water tells the story of 11-year-old Lu Si-Yan, who is forced to leave her village by her uncle, following her father’s death and mother’s illness. Kept inside a smog-wrapped tower block like a prisoner, she is made to work as a slave to a rich couple who intend to marry her to their simple-minded son. With the help of the grandmother of the family, Lu Si-Yan tries to return home to her village but along the route of escape, has no choice but to accept the ‘charity’ of factory owners the Wangs. But the factory is no place for an 11-year-old girl so, despite the support and friendship of fellow worker Li Mei, she vows to return to help her mother take care of her younger brother and begin her life again.
Spilled Water provides a fascinating insight into another culture and world. Children will enjoy reading about the hurdles a young Chinese girl faces due to the ‘single child’ policy and its implications. The agricultural life Lu Si-Yan leads at the start of the text and the finely drawn pictures of the industrialised world she encounters later, provide opportunities to explore description, setting and mood.
Recommended for Year Six as a class read and described by my class as an ‘emotional roller coaster’, Spilled Water is an extremely powerful and thought-provoking novel that kept the children hooked page to page and chapter to chapter. My class burst into spontaneous applause at the end and some needed a tissue!
Reviewed by Louise Carbert, Mayfield Primary School, St Annes-on-Sea
Jammy Dodgers get Filthy Rich by Bowering SiversThis is one of the books in a series of four based on the adventures of three brothers: Jem, Ned and Billy, set in
the Victorian era. This story has an ‘Oliver Twist’ feel to it and soon has you hooked on the adventures of these likeable characters.
The three brothers are from the slums of London, stealing money and food for their family to survive. The parents of a rich family from Kensington meet the brothers and take a shine to Billy who they proceed to adopt on the promise that Billy can have as much to eat as he wants. At first Billy enjoys the high life but soon finds himself the chief suspect in the theft of ‘The Star of India’, the expensive heirloom belonging to the mother of his new family. Jem and Ned decide to try and save Billy from being shipped off to Australia as a punishment for his crime and turn detectives to uncover the real criminal.
Although it is quite a long novel, this book has fitted in perfectly with our Victorian theme in Y6. There are references to Victorian lives of the rich and poor and the children have been excited to hear some of the facts and
information they have learnt throughout the book. The language is quite mature but the children have been hooked on the plot and have enjoyed writing character descriptions of their favourite character and predicting the next part of the plot. A book I would definitely recommend to complement a Victorian topic or as an alternative and more modern version of Oliver Twist.
Reviewed by Sarah Lee, Literacy Subject Leader, Deepdale Junior School, Preston
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell BoyceLiam is a really tall boy for his age and despite being eleven years old, he is often mistaken for an adult. This means he has disasters and
HAVE YOU READ?
adventures in equal measure, the biggest resulting in him finding himself accidentally aboard a space rocket. This is compounded by the fact that his parents think he’s on a residential visit to the Lake District! Frank Cottrell Boyce has an incredible talent for getting into a child’s thoughts and feelings, and making them come to life on the page. This is a fabulous class novel for upper KS2 – funny and moving – allowing both children and adults a useful glimpse into each other’s world.
The Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David BenedictusIf you are a child of the Fifties, you may only just be recovering from the aberration that was the Disney version of Winnie the Pooh. The news that someone had had the audacity to write a sequel to The House at Pooh Corner by AA Milne could not be possible - or be endured!
We all have a book that dominates our reading memories. For some it is Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, Enid Blyton’s The Wishing Tree, The Famous Five or Secret Seven, Reverend Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine, and for others, Winnie the Pooh.
The Return to the Hundred Acre Wood is a sequel to The House at Pooh Corner. Christopher Robin has been away at school and has returned for further adventures.
Well, reluctantly…it has to be said…all is nearly well! The author has maintained AA Milne’s style and humour. The characters have remained true to type in the intervening eighty years. Pooh is still obsessed with honey and hums; Piglet is still highly strung; Tigger still needs Ritalin, Eeyore continues his weary resignation that if things can go wrong, they will, and Owl remains an intellectual snob. A new resident of the Hundred Acre Wood is introduced in this book – Lottie the Ottie.
It is difficult to recommend an age-group for this
book. It certainly is engaging for anyone in their 50s! The humour is subtle in places and there for the adult reading to the child, rather than the child. It would certainly be an advantage to have read the originals so that the style, humour and characterisation are already familiar. Some of the writing does slip into a more modern style from tome to time which jars a little and the book itself does not have that evocative musty smell of long treasured books.
It is a gentle read that would suit bedtime perhaps better than school story time.
Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman and Lynne ChapmanThis is a real cautionary tale of what happens when you visit the zoo and don’t pay enough attention to the hungry anaconda. Class Two are having a wonderful time at the zoo until one child notices the snake that is gradually devouring her classmates. Although this story embodies every teacher’s nightmare, everyone is saved and the snake slithers off to fight another day. The story has a fabulous rhythm and rhyme to it that cannot fail to have your children joining in.
The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide‘We don’t shrink in this class,’ said Treehorn’s teacher firmly. But Treehorn was shrinking, and very inconvenient it was.
First published in the early 1970s, The Shrinking of Treehorn has become an old favourite for many readers. No one knows exactly why Treehorn is shrinking – least of all Treehorn himself. However it is the reactions of the various adult characters within the story which provide greatest amusement. These include Treehorn’s self obsessed parents (somewhat reminiscent of those in David McKee’s Not Now Bernard), his teacher who is concerned only with school rules and the ineffective school principal who talks about solving problems but offers nothing
HAVE YOU READ?
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lla A
rto
is (
the
do
g)
is t
he
ship
s ca
t!T
hey
vis
it A
fric
a, S
ou
th A
mer
ica
and
Au
stra
lia b
ut
as
they
leav
e th
e G
reat
Bar
rier
Ree
f d
isas
ter
bef
alls
th
em
and
Mic
hae
l is
was
hed
ove
rbo
ard
…
The
terr
ors
cam
e fa
st,
on
e u
po
n a
no
ther
. Th
e lig
hts
of
the
Peg
gy
Sue
wen
t aw
ay in
to t
he
dar
k o
f th
e n
igh
t, le
avin
g
me
alo
ne
in t
he
oce
an, a
lon
e w
ith
th
e ce
rtai
nty
th
at t
hey
w
ere
alre
ady
too
far
aw
ay, t
hat
my
crie
s fo
r h
elp
co
uld
no
t p
oss
ibly
be
hea
rd. I
th
ou
gh
t th
en o
f th
e sh
arks
cru
isin
g t
he
bla
ck w
ater
ben
eath
m
e - s
cen
tin
g m
e,
alre
ady
sear
chin
g m
e o
ut,
ho
min
g in
on
me
- an
d I
knew
th
ere
cou
ld b
e n
o h
op
e. I
wo
uld
be
eate
n
aliv
e. E
ith
er t
hat
or
I wo
uld
dro
wn
slo
wly
.
Save
d b
y h
is f
oo
tbal
l, w
hic
h k
ept
him
afl
oat
, Mic
hae
l aw
akes
to
fin
d h
imse
lf w
ash
ed u
p o
n a
des
ert
isla
nd
. H
e is
tir
ed, h
un
gry
an
d t
hir
sty…
Ho
wev
er, a
s h
e sl
ow
ly r
egai
ns
con
scio
usn
ess
and
fea
rs
for
his
su
rviv
al, h
e fi
nd
s a
bo
wl o
f fr
esh
wat
er, f
ish
an
d
fru
it la
id o
ut
on
pal
m le
aves
.M
ich
ael i
s n
ot
alo
ne!
!!
Th
e E
igh
teen
th
Em
erg
ency
by
Bet
sy
Bya
rs T
he
Eig
hte
enth
Em
erg
ency
is a
bo
ok
I esp
ecia
lly c
ho
se
to a
pp
eal t
o t
he
bo
ys in
my
Yea
r 6
cla
ss. T
his
hu
mo
rou
s
sto
ry is
bas
ed a
rou
nd
a y
ou
ng
Am
eric
an H
igh
Sch
oo
l
stu
den
t, ‘M
ou
se’.
Mo
use
is a
gre
at c
har
acte
r w
ith
the
abili
ty t
o d
ream
of
wh
at h
e w
ou
ld d
o in
an
y
emer
gen
cy, f
rom
bei
ng
face
d w
ith
a c
roco
dile
,
to s
wim
min
g in
a s
har
k
infe
sted
oce
an. H
e al
so
has
an
ecc
entr
ic h
abit
of
wri
tin
g n
ote
s ev
eryw
her
e
and
an
ywh
ere.
Th
is e
ven
tual
ly le
ads
him
into
tro
ub
le w
ith
th
e
gre
at, f
eare
d b
ully
, Mar
v
Ham
mer
man
an
d h
is e
vil
gan
g. T
he
plo
t fo
llow
s
Mo
use
th
rou
gh
ver
y
hu
mo
rou
s an
d e
mo
tio
nal
tim
es a
nd
incl
ud
es a
lot
of
intr
osp
ecti
on
. His
nic
knam
e
‘Mo
use
’ co
mes
fro
m h
is a
bili
ty t
o d
od
ge
situ
atio
ns
and
th
e cl
imax
of
the
sto
ry is
wh
en M
ou
se e
ven
tual
ly
con
fro
nts
th
e b
ully
.
Her
e ar
e a
cou
ple
of
qu
ote
s fr
om
th
e b
oys
in m
y cl
ass;
‘It is
a t
ensi
on
-fill
ed, a
ctio
n p
acke
d s
tory
ab
ou
t a
bo
y
calle
d M
ou
se w
ho
has
dre
amed
up
a li
st o
f w
hat
to
do
in e
mer
gen
cies
, bu
t re
alis
es h
e is
th
e g
reat
est
emer
gen
cy o
f al
l.....
’ (B
en E
ccle
sto
n, Y
ear
6)
‘All
the
char
acte
rs a
re g
reat
wit
h y
ou
r ty
pic
al
per
son
alit
ies,
just
like
a r
eal s
cho
ol.
Mo
use
is
par
ticu
larl
y fu
nn
y w
ith
his
qu
irky
hab
its.
’ (Jo
hn
Ho
oso
n, Y
ear
6)
Rev
iew
ed b
y Li
z R
ob
inso
n, B
ryn
ing
wit
h W
arto
n S
t
Pau
l’s C
E P
rim
ary,
War
ton
Ple
ase
su
bm
it y
ou
r o
wn
bo
ok
re
vie
ws
to
lite
racy
con
sult
an
ts@
lan
cash
ire
.go
v.u
k a
nd
w
e w
ill f
ea
ture
th
em
in f
utu
re n
ew
sle
tte
rs.
HA
VE
YOU
REA
D?
Lancashire Leading Literacy Teachers Present...
“Writer Talk”There will be 25
twilights happening in schools across the
County. Please look out for your flyer arriving
in school.
Who should attend?
- Subject Leaders, Key Stage 2 and Year 2 Teachers and Teaching Assistants
Aims of the course:
- To explore ideas and strategies from Pie Corbett’s ‘Talk for Writing’
‘An appropriate physical environment offers access to an outdoor as well as an indoor space and should provide a place where children have opportunities to explore, learn and develop with the support of sensitive, knowledgeable adults.’
The Early Years Foundation StageEffective practice: The Learning Environment
Children’s outdoor learning is enhanced by an environment that is richly resourced with exciting play materials and open-ended flexible resources that can be adapted and used in different ways, according to the needs and interests of individual children.
Outdoor learning is more effective when adults focus on what children need to be able to do there rather than identifying what children need to have. An approach that considers experiences rather than equipment places children at the centre of the provision for outdoor learning and ensures that individual children’s learning and developmental needs are taken account of and met effectively.
Effective practice outdoors involves providing opportunities for children in meaningful, engaging experiences that support their development in all areas of the curriculum. This will include opportunities for children to:
be excited, energetic, adventurous, noisy, messy;•talk, listen, interact, make friends;•imagine, dream, invent, fantasise;•create, invent, construct, deconstruct;•investigate, explore, discover, experiment with •their own ideas and theories;make sounds and music, express ideas and •feelings;find patterns, make marks, explore different •media and materials;investigate concepts and ideas;•be active, run, climb, pedal, jump, throw;•dig, grow, nurture, cultivate;•hide, relax, find calm, reflect;•have responsibility, be independent, and •collaborate with others.
Outdoor play within the context of developing Communication, Language and Literacy
‘Outdoors, children can hear and respond to a different range of sounds, beginning to recognise and distinguish between noises in the outdoor environment.’
The Early Years Foundation StageEffective practice: Outdoor Learning
Some suggestions…
Go on a listening walk and record the sounds the children can hear. List the sounds in words and/or pictures for children to identify, when replaying the sounds.
Let them sort their favourite sounds/sounds they do not like using the pictures.
Provide some natural materials e.g. sand, pebbles, shells, feathers and leaves and let the children make their own shakers using plastic bottles or tins with lids. Encourage the children to talk about the sounds made by the different materials and containers.
Provide drumsticks or chopsticks. The children can explore the different sounds they make by tapping or stroking e.g. the fence, upturned plant pots etc.
Let them splash in man-made puddles… what sounds can they hear?
Provide autumn leaves for the children to crunch or shake or toss into the air. Talk about the sounds and the movement of the leaves.
Fill an old sheet with autumn leaves – let them use the sheet to toss the leaves…what sounds are they making? What do the leaves look like, feel like?
Let them look for natural things around them to tap, rattle or shake…
Set up a collection of saucepans, saucepan lids, plastic bottles, plastic plates etc. Encourage the children to make sounds/create ‘music’.
Provide home-made megaphones so that children
Developing Communication, Language and Literacy during outdoor learning…
can experiment with speech sounds and volume!
‘They can use action and movement alongside words and sounds to convey their ideas and meanings. The outdoors is a place where stories, songs and poems can be shared and enacted.‘
The Early Years Foundation StageEffective practice: Outdoor Learning
Some suggestions…
Teach action songs or put actions to nursery •rhymes. Place the rhymes and pictures outside (they could be tied to the fence) and encourage the children to re-enact/ innovate the actions. Place the rhyme cards with musical instruments •and observe the outcome!
Place pictures of musical instruments with a picture of an action e.g. clap – initiate simple repeated sequences of movement e.g. skip, jump, hop as the instruments are played. The children could make up their own sequences for others to copy.
Stories such as, We are going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury can be re-enacted and shared outside. The children could move through the (imaginary, home made or real!)
long wavy grass, deep cold river, thick oozy mud etc looking for hidden bears or teddy bears…
A ‘grab and go’ story chest (or a backpack) of story based materials could be placed outside for children to use to reread/retell a story.
Provide pictorial story-maps with the stories so that favourite stories can be retold.
Percy the Park KeeperHang them on fences or railings…
Set up a storytelling area in a pop-up tent. Include a story tellers chair, hat, mat, cloak, books, story maps etc.
Use a pop-up tent for:
Grandmother’s house in Little Red Riding Hood;•The bear’s house in Goldilocks;•The Giant’s castle in Jack and The Beanstalk;•The witches house in Hansel and Gretel.•
Set up a phoneme hunt, or a CVC word hunt, and hide plastic letters/gold coins with phonemes or words on for the children to find.
Mark-making ‘When children have opportunities for spontaneous mark making, drawing and writing in both the indoor and outdoor environment, the communication process supports their learning across all six areas of learning and development.’
Mark Making Matters, DCSF
Developing Communication, Language and Literacy during outdoor learning…
Some suggestions…
A mark making trolley, containing lots of different writing/mark-making tools, can easily be taken outside. Include an assortment of paper, cardboard, pads, envelopes, sticky notes and labels, address books, diaries etc. The list is endless!
Provide ribbons, streamers and scarves to create zig-zags, straight and curved lines, sharp turns, high and low levels etc.
Map making and route finding in the outdoor area e.g. Where did we go on our bikes?
Resources for outside experiencesBig chalks on the floor•Mud and twigs of different lengths and sizes•Sensory play – making marks on builders trays in •different texturesPlayhouse with pads, paper, books•Gazebo – clipboards and paper, envelopes•Fabric sheets – paint or fabric pens•Maps – huge sheets, fat felt pens•Spray painting – water sprayers•Picnic table covered in large sheets of paper•Rolls of paper on the floor•Forest area – sticks and mud•Garage area – filling in slips, recording findings•Watering cans •Buckets of water and a range of tools, including •paint brushes, rollers, artists’ brushes, sponges and dish mopsBlackboards and whiteboards and assorted •chalks, paints, felt and dry wipe pensPortable writing toolkit – filled with resources •such as sticky notes, masking tape, selection of pens and pencils, selection of paper and envelopesLarge rolls of wallpaper or lining paper•Clipboards – with writing tools attached•
These resources can be used independently by the children and can enhance the experiences we provide for them in an outdoor environment.
The outdoors offers children exciting opportunities for developing upper body and limb strength through physical activity and movement. These experiences will have a positive impact on the development of control and coordination of small muscles needed later for successful handwriting.
The Early Years Foundation StageEffective practice: Outdoor Learning
Outdoor ICTICT equipment can be used to enhance the experiences we provide for children in the outdoor environment.
Placing tuff-cams, easi-speak microphones, talking tins, voice recorders, cameras etc in role-play areas will encourage speaking and listening skills and can be used to record activities.
ResourcesThe 2009 TES catalogue (www.tts-shopping.com) provides an overview of the above ICT resources as well as ideas for outdoor equipment.
The Literacy Outdoors section shows giant letters for phonics games, grab and go kits, alphabet activity balls, alphabet beads, playground pictures and a wall mountable blackboard.
And finally, lest we should forget! Being outdoors…
Has a positive impact on children’s sense of well •being and helps all aspects of development.Offers opportunities for doing things in different •ways and on different scales than when indoors.Provides first-hand contact with weather, •seasons, and the natural world.Offers children the freedom to explore, use their •senses and be physically active and exuberant.
Useful publicationswww.standards.dfes.gov.uk/clld for EYFS •information re Enabling Environments.Mark Making Matters DCSF ref 00767-2008BKT-•ENEnvironments for Outdoor Play A practical guide •to making space for children, Theresa Casey, Paul Chapman Publishing ISBN 781412929370The Little Book of Outdoor Play ISBN 1-902233-•74-3 www.featherstone.uk.com
Photographs kindly provided by Natalie Yeoman CLLD Lead Teacher – Brunshaw Primary School, Burnley
Talk Power: a project to get boys talkingRachel Hall, Foundation Stage Year Leader and CLLD Lead, from Stoneyholme Primary school describes a successful Talk Power project to get the boys talking outside!
Description of our setting…2 Foundation Stage classes •56 children•100% EAL,•E* Deprivation •Extremely low baseline across the board on •entry Our pupils generally have very little experience •of imaginary play before they come to school.
What the data said ...None of our boys had achieved 6+ in CLLD and PSED in the last 2 years. The problem strand was Language for Communication and Thinking and in particular, Point 3 (talks activities through,
reflecting on and modifying actions) and point 5 (uses language to imagine and recreate roles and experiences). There were boys who had scored 6+ on all CLLD strands except these and this was clearly linked to lower PSED scores and confidence, so we were looking for a way to get our more able boys talking.
What we didEvidence suggests that boys talk more freely when outdoors, so we chose to base our project outside and used ICT and a Power Rangers theme to engage them. Like many FY teams we are an all-female group, so we “borrowed” a man from elsewhere in school to provide a role model for “male talk”. The project was planned as a series of activities and also became part of our outdoor continuous provision. We played it as if it were real.
OutdoorsOur outdoor hut became “mission control” and we received a recording from “the baddie” who was coming to take control of the school. We wrote letters to the Power Rangers asking them to help and instructions for working the machines in mission control. A variety of resources were added to our outdoor play including masks, tabards and walkie talkies. We used a large outdoor construction kit (Alti) to design an exercise course with simple, easily decodable instructions (hop, jump, skip etc). After designing our own Power Ranger uniform and morphing movements we acted out a variety of role play situations over many weeks.
And indoorsThe Power Rangers theme was incorporated into some of the indoor areas of provision, such as
Power Ranger small world to develop oral story telling, books in the book corner to use for story
ideas and themed paper in the writing area to write messages/letters to the Power Rangers and mission reports.
OutcomesOur intention was to finish with creating a photostory and recording of some of the role play situations, however we had forgotten to take into account the weekly nursery visits during the last half term and so we ran out of time. Nursery
staff did tell us that the new intake were really excited about coming to school as they had seen the Power Ranger resources and wanted to play with them. So the positive effect on transition was an unexpected bonus. The other surprising outcome was that the girls loved it too. Parents noticed that the children were excited and wanted to tell them about what had happened in the world of Power Rangers that day!
A word of warning though – we did need to adapt some of the make-believe scenarios so that children did not become too anxious, for instance, about “the Baddies”. At this age they are not always able to distinguish the real from the unreal and we had to be careful to balance the benefits of creating an imaginary world with the ethics involved and the need for the children to feel safe. One practitioner
found that imaginary inoculations against the evil opponents worked well!
More dataAnalysis of our EYFS profile scores for the end of the year showed that 13% of children achieved 6+ in every strand of CLLD and PSED (an increase of 7%) and 11% of boys achieved 6+ in every strand of CLLD and PSED (an increase of 11%). It was very clear that the girls’ attainment
improved as well as the boys. As the project was so successful, we have incorporated the ideas into cross curricular planning for a full half term on the theme “superheroes”.
Many thanks to Rachel for sharing this successful outdoor Talk Power theme with us!
Preston Museums and Schools in Partnership
“The Lancashire School Effectiveness Service has been working in partnership with
museums and schools in Preston on developing creative approaches to teaching and learning.
There is a real ‘buzz’ in the participating schools and the programme is showing how museums can be used to stimulate children’s use of language and build self confidence as they share their work with a wide range of
audiences. It is proving a great success for all involved.”
Jonathan HewittHead of Lancashire School Effectiveness
Service
Since May 2007 primary and secondary schools
in Preston have been working with the following
four museums:
Harris Museum and Art Gallery•
Queen’s Lancashire Regimental Museum•
National Football Museum•
Museum of Lancashire•
We are moving away from the traditional one-
off school visit to a museum towards structuring
the visit into a half-term scheme of work for
English. Together, schools, museums and creative
practitioners (artists specialising in arts, crafts,
drama, dance and movement, ICT, etc.) have
developed a creative programme of new activities
for schools which can help raise pupils’ attainment
in English.
Preston’s museums and galleries are working with
schools to create exciting opportunities to deliver
the Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 curriculum. The
sessions fulfil many of the key features of the
national curriculum, and encourage young people
to use what they learn through museums in their
wider world.
Ongoing training and development opportunities
for teachers have supported their teaching of
literacy through museums and galleries.
Preston Museums and Schools in Partnership is co-
ordinated by a specialist consultant and is funded
by Renaissance in the Regions, a national funding
programme for regional museums.
If you would like to find out more about the
project please contact the co-ordinator, Lesley
Parkinson, Tel: 07906 746193 Email: parkmedia@
hotmail.com.
The Storytelling and Storymaking aspect of Talk for Writing involves the learning and repeating of oral stories, building children’s confidence to develop them through telling and then extending that development into writing; later creating ‘new’ stories orally as a preparation and rehearsal for writing.
It has a strong contribution to make to the learning and writing development of all children including children from diverse cultural backgrounds and those for whom English is an additional language. Children in any of these groups are likely to benefit considerably from the same strategies and approaches introduced in this booklet and exemplified on the DVDs. However, this learning can best be enhanced where teachers make appropriate provision.
For children from diverse cultural backgrounds:
Use stories and experiences from the children’s cultural heritage to engage and motivate them and thus support their writing. Remember that many communities (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and many Black and Asian communities) have a strong culture of oral storytelling that needs to be harnessed and built on in the classroom.
For EAL children:
Provide opportunities to tell stories in their first •language to enable children to draw and build on prior learning.Provide support from peers and adults who share •their first language and show how the children can draw on this to enrich their writing in English.Facilitate appropriate exploration of the •difference between informal conversational language and writer’s language, including grammatical structures.Provide opportunities to explore and use •vocabulary and language, including idioms and expressions, in the children’s first and additional languages.Model and scaffold talk, particularly in English, •through a range of strategies including speaking frames.
Useful resources
Talk for Writing DCSF Publications Tel: 0845 •60 222 60, Booklet: 00467-2008BKT-EN, DVD: 00761-2008DVD-EN.Mantra Lingua (• www.mantralingua.com) has dual language books, CD Roms and props for traditional tales.Storyteller: Traditional tales to read, tell and •write compiled by Pie Corbett from Scholastic.
Storytelling and storymaking for children learning English as an additional language
Dra
ma
Activ
ities U
sing
Billy
’s Bu
cke
t‘B
oo
k Talk’ in
Recep
tion
and
KS1
can o
ften b
e achieved
thro
ug
h th
e use o
f dram
a activities to
elicit and
extend
respo
nses to
text. Here are a few
sug
gestio
ns to
get yo
u
started, u
sing
a fantastic sto
ry called B
illy’s Bu
cket by K
es Gray an
d G
arry Parso
ns.
Prep
aring
for read
ing
Place a larg
e emp
ty bo
x in th
e mid
dle o
f the flo
or. Sit in
a circle arou
nd
it. Ask
on
e child
, or an
oth
er adu
lt in th
e classroo
m (o
r do
it you
rself!), to m
ime o
pen
ing
an
d p
laying
with
the b
est presen
t they h
ave ever received
. Can
the ch
ildren
gu
ess wh
at it is?
Ask each
child
to fin
d a sp
ace and
mim
e playin
g
with
their favo
urite to
y. Imp
rove th
e mim
e by
stop
pin
g th
e child
ren an
d askin
g th
em to
make th
e m
ovem
ents b
igg
er and
slow
er. Stop
child
ren an
d
interview
ind
ividu
al child
ren ab
ou
t wh
at they are
playin
g w
ith.
Make h
eadb
and
s with
a draw
ing
of th
e favou
rite to
y on
the fro
nt fo
r the ch
ildren
to u
se later.
Intro
du
cing
the sto
ryE
xplain
to th
e child
ren th
at you
kno
w a sto
ry abo
ut
a little bo
y that w
ants a very u
nu
sual p
resent fo
r h
is birth
day. W
ill he g
et wh
at he w
ants? R
ead th
e sto
ry of B
illy’s Bu
cket.
In th
e toy sh
op
Ask th
e child
ren to
wear th
eir toy h
eadb
and
s and
lin
e up
as if they are stan
din
g o
n th
e shelf in
the to
y sh
op
. Ho
w d
o th
ey feel as they w
ait for th
e child
ren
to co
me in
to th
e sho
p?
Ask th
e child
ren to
imag
ine th
at they h
ave been
stan
din
g in
the sh
op
for an
ho
ur an
d n
o-o
ne h
as co
me in
. Ho
w w
ou
ld th
eir bo
dies ch
ang
e? Ho
w
wo
uld
they b
e feeling
? Mo
ve alon
g th
e line askin
g
each ch
ild w
hat th
eir toy m
igh
t say.
Wh
at’s in th
e bu
cket?P
ut th
e child
ren in
to sm
all gro
up
s. Give each
gro
up
a large p
iece of clo
th (b
ed sh
eet) w
ith a circle d
rawn
in it. P
rovid
e each g
rou
p w
ith w
ashab
le felt tipp
ed p
ens. A
sk the
child
ren to
imag
ine th
at they are B
illy peerin
g in
to th
e bu
cket. Wh
at mig
ht th
ey see? A
sk each g
rou
p to
draw
a com
mu
nal p
icture o
f wh
at mig
ht b
e insid
e Billy’s b
ucket.
Wh
en th
e draw
ing
s are com
plete, ask th
e child
ren to
sit arou
nd
the b
ucket an
d
imag
ine th
at they are B
illy. Ask each
child
in tu
rn to
make a co
mm
ent, in
role as B
illy, as th
ey peer in
to th
e bu
cket.N
o-o
ne b
elieves Billy
Use th
ree child
ren to
freeze frame th
e action
from
the sto
ry wh
en B
illy is peerin
g
into
the b
ucket an
d h
is paren
ts are on
the settee m
aking
fun
of h
im. A
sk the o
ther
child
ren to
make a circle aro
un
d th
e tableau
. Ask
each ch
aracter wh
at they are th
inkin
g an
d feelin
g,
and
wh
at they m
igh
t say. Take su
gg
estion
s from
the
child
ren in
the circle as to
wh
at mig
ht h
app
en n
ext.T
here’s a w
hale o
n th
e car!
Arran
ge th
e child
ren in
to a larg
e circle. Pro
vide p
rop
s to
sug
gest d
ifferent ro
les, e.g. vet, p
olice o
fficer, b
uild
er, sho
pkeep
er, mo
torist, m
um
and
bab
y, etc. W
ork in
role yo
urself as a h
ealth an
d safety o
fficer tryin
g to
org
anise th
e safe remo
val of th
e wh
ale from
d
ad’s car. R
ole-p
lay the m
eeting
that m
igh
t take p
lace. Can
the ch
ildren
sug
gest w
ays of rem
ovin
g th
e w
hale?
On
ce an ag
reemen
t is reached
, mim
e the rescu
e o
peratio
n.
Ho
w d
o w
e feel abo
ut
dad
?P
lace an em
pty ch
air at the fro
nt o
f the ro
om
. Place
a new
spap
er on
the ch
air to sig
nify th
at dad
is sitting
th
ere. Ask th
e child
ren to
thin
k abo
ut w
hat th
ey m
igh
t like to say to
Billy’s d
ad, if h
e were th
ere. Allo
w
the ch
ildren
to take tu
rns to
speak to
dad
.
Ho
w d
oes d
ad feel?
Pu
t the ch
ildren
into
pairs. A
sk them
to w
ork in
role, o
ne as d
ad an
d o
ne as h
is frien
d. W
ith th
e child
ren sittin
g b
ack to b
ack, ask them
to ro
le-play th
e teleph
on
e co
nversatio
n th
at dad
and
his frien
d m
igh
t have at th
e end
of th
e day’s excitin
g
events.
Lancash
ire con
sultan
ts have d
rawn
insp
iration
recently fro
m a fab
ulo
us d
rama
specialist called
Reb
ecca Bell. R
ebecca is d
irector o
f ‘Integ
rate Ed
ucatio
n’, w
ho
se w
ebsite can
be fo
un
d at w
ww
.integ
rate-edu
cation
.co.u
k
Lear
nin
g O
bje
ctiv
es:
Eac
h le
sso
n m
ust
hav
e a
stat
ed le
arn
ing
•
ob
ject
ive/
s ac
hie
vab
le in
th
at le
sso
n. T
he
child
ren
sh
ou
ld b
e to
ld h
ow
th
is o
bje
ctiv
e fi
ts in
to t
he
un
it le
arn
ing
ou
tco
me
– t
he
‘big
p
ictu
re’.
Th
e le
arn
ing
ob
ject
ive
sho
uld
be
un
pic
ked
fro
m
•
the
age-
app
rop
riat
e fr
amew
ork
str
and
/s.
Th
e su
cces
s cr
iter
ia f
or
the
lear
nin
g o
bje
ctiv
e sh
ou
ld b
e sh
ared
/•
gen
erat
ed w
ith
th
e ch
ildre
n, u
sin
g M
arki
ng
Lad
der
s w
her
e ap
pro
pri
ate.
Pla
nn
ing
:T
o b
e su
bm
itte
d t
o <
> a
t th
e st
art
of
each
•
new
un
it.
To
sta
te u
nit
ou
tco
mes
– b
oth
lear
nin
g a
nd
•
wri
tten
.T
o r
efle
ct a
cle
ar t
each
ing
seq
uen
ce f
rom
•
Rea
din
g t
o A
nal
ysis
to
Gat
her
ing
Co
nte
nt
to W
riti
ng
.T
o s
tate
ski
lls t
o b
e ta
ug
ht
and
ap
plie
d in
eac
h le
sso
n;
•
Incl
ud
e su
cces
s cr
iter
ia f
or
tho
se s
kills
.•
Incl
ud
e d
iffe
ren
tiat
ion
– (
star
t at
ag
e-re
late
d a
nd
dif
fere
nti
ate
•
do
wn
).In
clu
de
refe
ren
ces
to t
each
er d
emo
nst
rati
on
.•
To
be
ann
ota
ted
wit
h e
valu
atio
n n
ote
s an
d m
od
ific
atio
ns
•
aris
ing
fro
m A
fL.
Rea
din
g:
Th
e ch
ildre
n m
ust
be
read
to
eve
ry d
ay.
•
Sto
ries
in b
oth
Key
Sta
ges
, an
d n
ove
ls
•
in K
ey S
tag
e T
wo
.Sh
ared
Rea
din
g –
to
be
use
d t
o t
each
•
age-
rela
ted
rea
din
g c
om
pre
hen
sio
n s
kills
. A
su
bst
anti
al a
mo
un
t o
f ti
me
mu
st b
e sp
ent
in im
mer
sio
n in
•
text
s; f
or
inte
rpre
tati
on
, res
po
nse
an
d e
njo
ymen
t.R
ead
ing
to
info
rm w
riti
ng
sh
ou
ld t
ake
pla
ce a
fter
, no
t in
stea
d
•
of,
th
e ab
ove
.G
uid
ed R
ead
ing
– a
ll cl
asse
s m
ust
hav
e g
rou
ps
of
read
ers
•
gro
up
ed b
y re
adin
g le
vel.
Ch
ildre
n s
ho
uld
be
tau
gh
t h
ow
to
res
po
nd
ora
lly u
sin
g B
oo
k •
Tal
k, t
each
er m
od
ellin
g a
nd
res
po
nse
ho
oks
, as
wel
l as
in
wri
tin
g.
Th
e A
sses
smen
t an
d P
rog
ress
ion
do
cum
ent
to b
e u
sed
to
•
info
rm t
each
ing
, mo
nit
ori
ng
an
d a
sses
smen
t.
AP
P t
o b
e u
sed
ter
mly
to
ass
ess
a ra
ng
e o
f ev
iden
ce.
•
Th
is d
ocu
men
t to
be
ann
ota
ted
to
sh
ow
eac
h g
rou
p’s
pro
gre
ss
•
and
nex
t st
eps.
Th
e R
ead
ing
Wo
rksh
op
mo
del
to
be
ado
pte
d in
Key
Sta
ge
Tw
o:
•
A
: Gu
ided
Rea
din
g
B: P
rep
arin
g f
or
Gu
ided
Rea
din
g
C: R
esp
on
din
g t
o G
uid
ed R
ead
ing
D
: Lib
rary
rea
din
g/a
ctiv
itie
s
E: P
erso
nal
Rea
din
gC
hild
ren
mu
st t
ake
thei
r re
adin
g b
oo
k an
d r
ead
ing
rec
ord
•
ho
me
ever
y d
ay.
An
yto
wn
Pri
ma
ry S
cho
ol
Lit
era
cy -
Th
e E
sse
nti
als
Spea
kin
g a
nd
Lis
ten
ing
:T
her
e sh
ou
ld b
e a
bal
ance
bet
wee
n t
each
er a
nd
•
child
tal
k.T
her
e m
ust
be
pla
nn
ed o
pp
ort
un
itie
s fo
r sp
eaki
ng
•
and
list
enin
g in
all
less
on
s.Sp
eaki
ng
an
d li
sten
ing
ski
lls s
ho
uld
be
tau
gh
t as
•
exp
licit
ly a
s o
ther
ski
lls.
Th
ere
sho
uld
be
hig
h e
xpec
tati
on
s ab
ou
t th
e q
ual
ity
and
sta
nd
ard
of
•
talk
.T
her
e sh
ou
ld b
e o
pp
ort
un
itie
s fo
r ta
lk-p
artn
ers
to r
esp
on
d t
o f
ocu
sed
•
qu
esti
on
s w
ith
sp
ecif
ic g
uid
ance
on
wh
at h
as t
o b
e d
iscu
ssed
an
d
wh
at t
he
ou
tco
me
of
the
dis
cuss
ion
sh
ou
ld b
e.D
ram
a te
chn
iqu
es s
ho
uld
be
spec
ifie
d in
mo
st u
nit
pla
ns.
•
Dra
ma
sho
uld
be
use
d e
ffec
tive
ly t
o r
esp
on
d t
o a
nd
exp
lore
tex
ts a
nd
•
to g
ath
er c
on
ten
t fo
r w
riti
ng
.
Wri
tin
g:
Wri
tin
g m
ust
be
valu
ed w
ith
hig
h e
xpec
tati
on
s •
for
bo
th c
on
ten
t an
d p
rese
nta
tio
n.
Ag
e-re
late
d w
riti
ng
ski
lls m
ust
be
•
dem
on
stra
ted
an
d m
od
elle
d b
y th
e te
ach
er.
Th
ere
mu
st b
e an
exp
ecta
tio
n t
hat
th
e sk
ills
•
dem
on
stra
ted
are
ap
plie
d b
y th
e ch
ildre
n t
o
thei
r w
riti
ng
.W
riti
ng
ou
tco
mes
sh
ou
ld b
e cr
eati
ve a
nd
ref
lect
pu
rpo
se a
nd
•
aud
ien
ce.
Key
Sta
ge
On
e: E
xerc
ise
bo
oks
fo
r p
ract
ice
and
pre
par
atio
n. W
riti
ng
•
ou
tco
mes
into
to
pic
bo
oks
.K
ey S
tag
e T
wo
: Wri
ters
’ Jo
urn
als
for
the
wri
tin
g p
roce
ss f
rom
an
alys
is
•
to g
ath
erin
g c
on
ten
t to
ski
lls p
ract
ice.
Pu
nch
-po
cket
pre
sen
tati
on
w
alle
ts.
Hig
h e
xpec
tati
on
s an
d s
tan
dar
ds
in w
riti
ng
mu
st b
e m
ain
tain
ed
•
acro
ss t
he
curr
icu
lum
. C
ross
-cu
rric
ula
r lin
ks f
or
read
ing
an
d w
riti
ng
sh
ou
ld b
e m
ade
•
wh
erev
er a
pp
rop
riat
e.In
cid
enta
l wri
tin
g o
pp
ort
un
itie
s sh
ou
ld b
e p
lan
ned
th
rou
gh
ou
t a
un
it
•
of
wo
rk in
ad
dit
ion
to
th
e u
nit
ou
tco
me.
Th
ese
can
ari
se f
rom
rea
din
g
as w
ell a
s w
riti
ng
ses
sio
ns.
Wh
erev
er p
oss
ible
, exp
licit
ski
lls t
each
ing
sh
ou
ld o
ccu
r w
ith
in t
he
•
con
text
of
real
wri
tin
g r
ath
er t
han
dis
cret
e g
ram
mar
exe
rcis
es.
Gu
ided
Wri
tin
g –
ch
ildre
n s
ho
uld
be
gro
up
ed a
cco
rdin
g t
o n
ext
step
s •
and
are
as f
or
dev
elo
pm
ent.
Gu
ided
wri
tin
g s
ho
uld
hap
pen
in m
ost
lite
racy
less
on
s.•
Eac
h g
uid
ed w
riti
ng
ses
sio
n m
ust
hav
e a
spec
ific
fo
cus
and
lear
nin
g
•
ou
tco
me.
Spel
ling
an
d P
ho
nic
s:•
Astructuredandsystematicphonics
pro
gra
mm
e is
tau
gh
t ev
ery
day
in
KS1
an
d, f
or
tho
se w
ho
nee
d t
o
con
tin
ue,
in K
S2.
•
Astructuredandsystematicspelling
pro
gra
mm
e sh
ou
ld b
e in
clu
ded
th
rou
gh
ou
t ea
ch u
nit
– li
ttle
an
d o
ften
– in
KS2
.•
Spellingsareexplicitlytaughtthroughinvestigation
of
rule
s, c
on
ven
tio
ns
and
str
ateg
ies
bef
ore
list
s ar
e se
nt
ho
me.
Han
dw
riti
ng
:A
ll d
emo
nst
rati
on
wri
tin
g, d
isp
lay
•
and
mar
kin
g s
ho
uld
ref
lect
th
e sc
ho
ol’s
ag
reed
sty
le.
Tea
cher
s to
dis
cuss
an
d a
gre
e u
po
n
•
a st
yle
and
wh
en c
urs
ive
is t
aug
ht.
Pen
s to
be
use
d w
hen
a c
hild
’s
•
wri
tin
g is
un
ifo
rm in
siz
e, o
rien
tati
on
an
d is
cu
rsiv
e.Sc
ho
ol s
tyle
is: <
>
• M
arki
ng
:M
arki
ng
sh
ou
ld r
esp
on
d t
o t
he
•
lear
nin
g o
bje
ctiv
e.W
her
e th
e o
bje
ctiv
e h
as b
een
met
•
this
sh
ou
ld b
e ac
kno
wle
dg
ed.
Nex
t st
eps
mu
st b
e in
dic
ated
.•
Tim
e m
ust
be
giv
en f
or
child
ren
to
•
resp
on
d t
o m
arki
ng
.T
ho
rou
gh
an
d f
ocu
sed
mar
kin
g s
ho
uld
be
do
ne
•
at le
ast
on
ce p
er w
eek
per
gro
up
– (
i.e. t
hat
day
’s
Gu
ided
Wri
tin
g g
rou
p).
Freq
uen
t, In
dep
end
ent
app
licat
ion
of
skill
s sh
ou
ld
•
be
iden
tifi
ed t
o in
form
AP
P –
ob
serv
atio
ns;
wri
tin
g;
read
ing
res
po
nse
s; t
alk.
Th
e W
ork
ing
Wal
l:A
ll cl
asse
s m
ust
hav
e a
wo
rkin
g w
all
•
– a
dis
pla
y w
hic
h r
efle
cts
the
wri
tin
g
pro
cess
fro
m a
nal
ysis
to
ou
tco
me.
T
he
wo
rkin
g w
all s
ho
uld
sh
ow
•
wo
rk-in
-pro
gre
ss a
nd
sh
ou
ld s
up
po
rt
ind
epen
den
t w
ork
.T
he
wal
l sh
ou
ld b
e in
tera
ctiv
e an
d b
e •
con
trib
ute
d t
o, a
nd
acc
essi
ble
by
the
child
ren
.B
oo
k b
oar
ds
sho
uld
pro
vid
e o
pp
ort
un
itie
s fo
r •
child
ren
to
inte
rpre
t an
d r
esp
on
d t
o w
hat
th
ey
read
/hav
e re
ad t
o t
hem
in a
var
iety
of
crea
tive
w
ays.
Th
is c
he
ckli
st w
as
cre
ate
d f
or
on
e p
art
icu
lar
sch
oo
l an
d w
ill n
ee
d
ad
ap
tin
g t
o s
uit
th
e n
ee
ds
an
d p
rio
riti
es
of
dif
fere
nt
sch
oo
ls.
We are able to support professional development in a variety of ways:
Marketed Consultancies:
We are able to provide consultancies for individual teachers, schools or local networks which can be tailor-made to suit your needs. These can take place during the school day, after school or during INSET days. They can be booked through Learning Excellence www.learningexcellence.net or could be provided as subsidised training through the TDA (Training and Development Agency) – contact Kathy Bigio on 01257 516100 for further information.
Some of the consultancies which have been provided recently include:
Early Reading and Phonics – •this continues to be a popular consultancy particularly to train groups of teaching assistants during their working daySupport for Spelling – an •introduction to the new materials and practical ideas for implementationWriting across the Curriculum – •an area of focus for many schools as they develop their ‘creative curriculum’.
Guided Reading - many schools •are reviewing reading provision and revisiting Guided Reading as a means of providing targeted teaching of reading at all levels of ability.APP and Literacy - This session has •been requested by schools who wanted to specifically focus on the types of evidence that could be used to support APP.
Why not ring Helen Atkinson or Anita Yearsley on 01257 516100 to discuss your needs or email us at [email protected] or [email protected]?
Courses:
In addition to providing Strategy Courses we also provide a wide range of marketed courses.
Why not take a look at the Learning Excellence Site to see if we are running a course which would benefit the professional development of a member of your staff?
You can access the Learning Excellence site directly www.learningexcellence.net or via a link on our own website www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/nationalstrategy/literacy.
How Can the Literacy Team Support Your Professional Development?
ENG138a 14/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 2
ENG142a 14/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 6
ENG141a 15/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 5
ENG129b 19/01/2010 LPDS, Chorley Year 6 SATs Revision - Literacy
ENG129a 20/01/2010 Woodlands Year 6 SATs Revision - Literacy
ENG137a 21/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 1
ENG140a 22/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 4
ENG109b 28/01/2010 Woodlands New to Subject Leader Day 2
ENG132a 28/01/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 2
ENG103b 03/02/2010 LPDS, Chorley Support for Spelling
ENG136a 04/02/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 6
ENG131a 05/02/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 1
ENG108c 10/02/2010 Woodlands Super Sentences
ENG146 11/02/2010 Woodlands Planning for the Non-Exemplified Literacy Units in Year 4
ENG139a 12/02/2010 Woodlands Support for Writing: Moving through the levels in Year 3
SEN101c 23/02/2010 St Maria Goretti Acceleread and Accelewrite
ENG122b 25/02/2010 LPDS, Chorley Delivering Letters and Sounds at Year 2
ABL112g 25/02/2010 Woodlands Literacy for the More Able: Ensuring Progress from L3 KS1 to L5 KS2
ENG135a 26/02/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 5
ENG144a 04/03/2010 Woodlands Planning for the Non-Exemplified Literacy Units in Year 2
ENG134a 05/03/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 4
ENG151b 10/03/2010 Woodlands Moving to Learn: Linking PE and Literacy
ENG155a 11/03/2010 LPDS, Chorley Delivering Letters and Sounds at Year 1
ENG133a 11/03/2010 Woodlands Support for Reading: Moving through the levels in Year 3
ENG143a/b 12/03/2010 Woodlands Subject Leader Network – Central
ENG147a 17/03/2010 Woodlands Planning for the Non-Exemplified Literacy Units in Year 5
ENG143c/d 19/03/2010 Clayton Park Subject Leader Network – East
ENG145 24/03/2010 Woodlands Planning for the Non-Exemplified Literacy Units in Year 3
ENG143e 26/03/2010 Garstang Golf Subject Leader Network – North
ENG106b 31/03/2010 Woodlands Assessment and Target Setting in Literacy
15/04/2010 ENG153a Woodlands Phase One Phonics Day 1
21/04/2010 ENG104b TBC Guided Reading
22/04/2010 ENG102b TBC Monitoring the teaching of Literacy for Subject Leaders
27/04/2010 ENG103c Woodlands Support for Spelling
29/04/2010 ENG153a Woodlands Phase One Phonics Day 2
13/05/2010 ENG116a Woodlands Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 1
20/05/2010 ENG117c Woodlands Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 2
27/05/2010 ENG113c TBC Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 3
10/06/2010 ENG118c Woodlands Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 4
11/06/2010 ENG151c Woodlands ‘Moving to Learn’ - PE and Literacy
17/06/2010 ENG119c Woodlands Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 5
18/06/2010 ENG130a/b Lancs College Literacy Subject Leader Network – South
24/06/2010 ENG120c Woodlands Using ICT to Support Literacy in Year 6
25/06/2010 ENG130c/d Clayton Park Literacy Subject Leader Network – East
29/06/2010 ENG101b Woodlands Big Write Day Two
02/07/2010 ENG130e/f Garstang Golf Literacy Subject Leader Network – North
Courses 2010Spring Term 2010
Summer Term 2010
One to One Tuition in Lancashire
Approaching the end of term means that all primary and secondary schools and most special schools in Lancashire know their allocation of One to One Tuition places. These numbers range from a minimum of 2 places in primary to a maximum of 135 in one of our large secondary schools. We have allocated 6,500 places this year which is set to rise to 13,000 next year. The budget of £2.8 million will double to £5.6 million in 2010-11. The budget is ring-fenced.
These places are to be used over the year and schools will be in the process of selecting the students to receive the tuition and in employing tutors. The places are to tutor students in English/Literacy and mathematics and are aimed in KS2, 3 and, in National Challenge schools, in KS4.
As far as Subject Leaders are concerned you should be involved in the identification of the students who you feel will benefit from the opportunity of 10 hours individual tuition. You will want to be involved in supporting your staff in setting tight targets for the tuition and in facilitating discussions between your staff and the tutors. There is funding in the budget for this and the funding is ring-fenced. You will ideally want to know who the tutors are and would want
to be involved in the monitoring and evaluation processes, especially the observation of tuition to ensure quality.
Mathematics and English/Literacy teachers will be involved in setting targets for the tutees and in ongoing discussions, especially with the student about the impact of their tuition.
You may wish to be tutors yourselves. Tuition can take place within and without the school day and your tuition leads in school will be planning models of delivery as you read. If you are interested, you should talk to them about how this is going and express your interest in tutoring. There is already a large database of trained tutors on the website.
There is a massive amount to take in about One To One and all the information to date can be found at our website. For more detailed information you can contact us through the site.